


the ship has sunk and its under the water

by aleas



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Earth Kingdom, F/F, F/M, Fire Nation, M/M, Multi, Non-Canon Relationship, Non-Canonical Character Death, Non-Canonical Violence, Romance, Water Tribe(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-08-11 14:10:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7895653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aleas/pseuds/aleas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>***evil!Water Tribe, AtLA AU. Also posted on FFN as puotters.*** Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four Nations lived together in harmony. But then, everything changed when the Water Tribes attacked. And only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them; but when the world needed him most, he vanished. Now the world lives under the dominion of the Northern and Southern Water Tribes, but when rumors of the lost Avatar's return starts start to spread, the Water Tribe leaders grip on their icy throne subsequently starts to slip. A story of nations pitted against one, lost hearts trying to find home, and the subsequent blurring of lines of what or who is good, and evil. evil!Water Tribe AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginning

**Hello, its Cass here! ;-)**

 

**I've already actually posted some of this story up on FFN, but I was curious about ao3 (i've heard good things about it) and I decided to give it a try and post this story up on it and see what happens. I actually began it in January this year, worked on it until around May-ish, forgot about it (I had exams and things) then about a month back I came back to it and started reposting the chapters on FFN. It's basically an evil!Water Tribe AU, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it :'-)By the way, I actually participated in Zutara Week 2016 (which was a blast) so I might start posting my submissions up here as well as time goes by. See you at the end xx**

* * *

 

**New ages of the characters:**

**Aang** : 12 (biologically) 

 **Zuko** : 17

 **Azula** : 15

 **Katara** : 16

 **Sokka** : 17

 **Toph** : 13

 

* * *

 

An Avatar Fanfiction AU. I  **DO NOT** own Avatar: The Last Airbender. 

* * *

 

Chapter 1

 

100 AG, Summer

31st Day of the 7th Month

 

“Azula, where _are_ we going?”

The red-and-gold-robed Fire Princess turned around, a scowl forming on her features. “Honestly Zu-zu, how can you not know?” She turned back around, ignoring the groans coming from her brother.

 

“We’ve been walking for ages now, and I don’t even know why you dragged me along?” Her brother complained, trying to pull back his slouching shoulders and return to his lofty stance. “Next time you bring me on a random walk, you could at least have the courtesy of telling me where we’re going?”

 

Azula laughed. “Well, where’s the fun in that?” As she laughed, Zuko could see the faint flickers of fire puff out of her fingertips, a tell-tale sign that his sister was planning something. He a glare in her direction. Azula pouted. “Poor Zu-zu, must be hard being born without a sense of fun in the first place.”

 

Zuko begrudgingly trailed after his sister, grumbling under his breath at every step, wondering what in the Fire Lord’s name could Azula be so secretive about. They turned around a bend in the path, and Zuko almost crashed straight into Azula as she stopped abruptly. She stepped aside, motioning towards a large round formation of moss-covered rock which was built into the side of the riverbed. Judging from the height of the sides of the riverbed, if water was present, the surface would have barely covered it, so the top stood out, and looked a bit like a tiny island.  Zuko stared at the rock, then moved his gaze to his sister.

 

“Yeah, a rock. So what?”

“You take a good look at a rock, standing in the middle of a _river,_ which is shaped in a perfect hemisphere, and you say that?” Azula’s eyes narrowed. “You really are as dim as you look.”

“Yeah, so what?”“Ugh.” Azula rubbed her thumb and her index finger together, evidently irritated by Zuko’s nonchalance. “I guess I’ll have to spell it out for my poor little brother.” She moved towards the rock, and peered into a crack which stretched down its side. “Look.”

 

Zuko squinted down the crack, and almost fell down in surprise. There was a strange blue light coming from deep inside the rock, and outlined by the light, he could barely just see the silhouette of a head. Azula smirked at him. “Has it been hammered into your tiny mind yet?” Zuko nodded slowly. “There’s someone inside there, Zuko.”

 

“Then we’ll have to get that someone out,” Zuko gathered a tiny ball of fire in his hand, and launched it at the rock, a spark of excitement forming in his heart; but was quickly extinguished when the heat barely chipped off a bit of the rocks hard exterior. Azula almost laughed out loud.

 

“The least you could do is try a little harder.”

 

“If you think its that easy then maybe you should try yourself.” Zuko sneered, trying to focus on producing as much fire as he can in his palm for another blow.

 

Azula formed a spark of blue fire with her fingers, wincing as it extinguished seconds after with a soft gust of wind. “Remember? I’m just as good as you are.”

 

Zuko gritted his teeth. Sometimes he wished Azula was as good as their father. But their father remained stoic, and refused to teach them any Firebending techniques, and barred them from any access to Firebending scrolls or Masters. Firebending was a very dangerous skill, he had said. He didn’t want his children to learn the skill just to misuse it. At Zuko’s insistence of the honing of the skill, he had launched a wave of fire at him, which almost singed his nose, and stopped him from asking anymore questions. Azula suspected their father was just scared of the two of them overthrowing him by Agni Kai, thus the banning of any Firebending techniques. Luckily their Uncle Iroh had managed to slip them a few moves in the brief moments he was back from fighting at Ba Sing Se. Lu Ten would have helped as well, if he was not dead.

 

Zuko managed to form a pretty decent piece of fire in the time he was thinking of this, and without hesitation, threw it towards the rock, aiming for the large crack, and successfully hitting his target. There was a huge flash of white light, which threw Azula and him backwards, their hands shielding their eyes from the glare.  Zuko could barely see the crack on the side slowly grow, and through the light, he could just see the outline of a person in the shell of rock. Azula got up from her position where she was sprawled on her back, propping herself with one arm, and using the other to shield her eyes from the light. Zuko remained on his side. A pillar of light emitted from the top of the rock for a split second and the rest of the earth splintered away, revealing a large humped figure, then the sharper outline of a child. Zuko brought himself to his feet, and staggered towards the figure, shocked when he saw that instead of eyes, the boys oval eyes were more like beams of light, similar to the arrows of light on his forehead, arms and legs. Azula followed him, and her eyes flashed as the boy fell out of the air, and pushed Zuko forward, so the boy fell straight into his outstretched arms. The humped figure was in fact some fluffy beast, which had similar arrow markings on its cream fur. Its eyes were shut closed, and so were the boys. Azula raised her eyebrows.

 

“You don’t see that every day.”

“What should we do with him? Father wouldn’t allow him to stay.”

Azula scoffed, and without missing a beat, replied, “Since when did we follow what Father said?”

 

Meanwhile, a guard gawked at the sky, wondering what in the world, was that weird flash of light he had just seen. He later repeated the moment to his fellow guards, who laughed at him, and said that he had imagined it, and in the name of Agni, to stop insisting he hadn’t.

 

* * *

 

 

Zuko shuffled into his quarters, the boy thrown over his shoulder. Azula stood outside, watching out for any guards. Zuko pulled out the velvet collapsible bed slash chair which stood by his own, and set the boy down there. He and Azula stood back, her hands on her hips, and a small smile playing across her lips. The boy was bald, and light blue tattoos stretched down his forehead, and wove around his hands and legs. His robes were simple; orange and yellow, with some sort of half-cape around his shoulders. His clothes were in no state of disrepair, which was surprising, considering he had been stuck in a rock. Zuko wondered how he even managed to get in there in the first place. “We’ll have to get him into Fire Nation clothes. He’s so painfully obvious in those colours” Azula muttered, fiddling with her perfectly manicured fingernails. “We wouldn’t want Father to suspect anything. We could just say he was a new personal serving boy or something.”

 

“Is that what you have in mind for him?” Zuko hissed.

“It wouldn’t hurt to have one more.” Azula shrugged.

“He fell out of a _rock_!”

“I like the tough ones. I don’t have to fire them that way.”

 

Zuko threw up his hands in despair. “Whatever. This kid’s not going to become a serving boy for the Fire Nation.”

 

“And why not?”

“Because I just… _know_.”

“The last time you said that, Mother never got better.”

 

Zuko resisted the strong urge to cry out and kick his sister out of the palace. He made no reply, and instead watched Azula pull out some clothes from his closet. She selected a simple tunic and pants, paired with red boots and a gold-and-black headband, and threw them up in a pile on Zuko’s bed.

 

“He can wear that. The headband is to cover his arrow. Even the servants will be able to tell he’s an imposter if they see it.”

 

Zuko quickly pulled the oversized tunic over the boy’s torso, and fitted the pants with a belt over the old ones. He replaced the brown boots with the red Fire Nation ones, but left the headband by the chair. “What about the beast?”

 

“We can’t sneak that thing into the palace. We’ll have to leave it there and hope it stays asleep.”

“And that no one finds it?” Zuko suggested.

“And that. I wouldn’t worry, little brother. That river is eons away from the palace, and the guards are too lazy to even walk that far. It’s the best hiding place for something so obvious.”

“I would’t even call it a hiding place. That thing is lying there in full view of anyone who comes past.”

“Then thank the spirits that no one comes past!”

“Azula, you-”

 

Zuko was interrupted by a clang of metal against the floor just behind them, and the shout of surprise as the boy woke up. Azula rushed forwards, but was butted back by a wave of an unknown force. The boy’s eyes were wide open, frightened by the unfamiliar surroundings, and the strange people and not to mention, clothes. Zuko advanced, arms brought up to and in front of his chest, palms facing forwards, in some sort of surrendering pose. The boy’s hands trembled violently, and Zuko could see the droplets of sweat dripping down his temples from his position. He brandished a candlestick, waving it frantically in both of their faces.

 

“Who are you and what do you want with me?” The boy demanded. “And where am I?” He added as an after note, and a short hesitation.

 

“I’m Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, and she’s Azula, the Princess,” Zuko said slowly. “We found you buried in a…er…rock and brought you to the palace.” Zuko took a step closer. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. We won’t hurt you.” Azula appeared behind him, hair dishevelled from her harsh landing from the blow. The boy didn’t seem impressed, but his hard gaze softened a bit. His grip on the candlestick loosened slightly, and his ramrod straight arms bent in a bit.

 

“Where’s my staff?”

Zuko was stunned. “A staff? There was none.” Azula pushed him away.

“It must be back at the riverbed, where we found you.” She replied quickly.

“And my bison?” The boy continued.

 _Your what now?_ “That fluffy thing? It’s still back there. We think…hope it’s still asleep.”

 

The boy sprang up from his chair, landing gently on the ground, which Zuko found slightly weird. “I need to go to him.” He rushed towards the huge double doors, and was about to swing them open before Azula rushed in front of him.

 

“Hide your arrow first.” She fastened the headband around the boy’s forehead, much to his disgust.

“I don’t want to hide my arrow.” He tried to pull it off, but Azula was insistent.

“Do you want to see your animal or not?” said Azula. “If you do, you’d better wear this headband.”

 

The boy pursed his lips, but conceded, and Azula cracked the door open wide enough to let all three out. The boy and the two Fire Nation royals quickly headed down the long hallways, with Azula leading the way. The boy’s eyes were constantly darting back and forth, and his suspicion of the place grew with each quick step. Azula reached a side door, and ushered the both of them out. Zuko instantly recognized the large hill which would lead to the riverbed, and directed the boy there.

 

“It’s through there.”

 

The boy nodded, and suddenly, grasped Zuko and Azula’s hands, positioning himself in a strange stance. “Hold on tight.” The siblings hardly had any time to react before they were hurtling across the ground, their hair flipping in the wind, and within seconds, they came to a stop, at the crest of the hill. The boy let go of their hands, and offered no explanation, and instead ran with great speed towards the hunched beast, leaving Zuko and Azula to come up with their own explanation to the feat. Zuko regained his balance, and shared a puzzled stare with Azula, then followed the boy, who had uncovered a long staff which was buried under a thin layer of dust and splintered rocks. Zuko was struck even more speechless when the boy gave the staff a sharp shake, and it turned into some kind of glider.

 

For once, his sister said nothing as the boy launched himself into the air, using the glider to catch the wind and float about the sky. The boy landed lightly on his feet, and at that moment, the huge beast woke. The boy jumped at the animal, hugging the top of its large, furry head with his entire body. “Appa!” He said happily, “I’ve missed you!”

 

Azula recovered her ability to speak. “You _definitely_ don’t see _that_ everyday.”

And Zuko, for once, agreed.

* * *

**I'm not very good at writing Azula, she never really appealed to me, but maybe if I find the time to rewatch the series, she might become my favourite. See you soon! I usually update weekly,  sometimes twice a week if I find the time ;-)**

**-Cass**


	2. Goodbye

**Authors Note: Sorry for late of updates. I've been trying to concentrate more on my studies. Anyways, here is the next chapter! By the way, I can't remember if I said this in the last chapter, but don't worry too much about the time stamps, I put them there for my own reference. You can ignore them, but if you are the type that likes to take note of the dates and times, go ahead, I hope I didn't make any mistakes.**

**Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

 

# Chapter 2 

## 100 AG, Summer 

### 31st Day of the 7th Month

 

 

The girl and her brother were on a boat. It was a large one, armed with the water cannons which their people used often to battle, then defeat the other nations with. The Earth Kingdom's strongholds had crumbled under the sheer force of the concentrated blasts, and all that was left was the greatest of the great cities that lay untouched by her people's hands. Ba Sing Se. Here, they battled two elements, Earth, and then Fire. So every day they spent on this ship, was another day of unrelenting attacks from the combined forces. More warriors died each day, and this ship, filled with at least a hundred warriors and benders were basically the last hope for the invasion of Ba Sing Se, and they weren't even there yet. The girl tied back her long, dark hair into a quick ponytail, and fastened the necklace and pendant around her neck. Her brother was busying himself applying the war paint of a Water Tribe warrior, so she decided to avoid bothering him. Instead, she decided on practising her own set of skills. She shouted out an order for a filled satchel, and within moments, it arrived, delivered by a scared little serving boy. She sent him away with a sharp nod of her head, and he obliged almost immediately, running off to the dark crevasses where the servants loitered.

The girl shook the stray hairs out of her face, and focused on the satchel. She pushed the water out of it, and a split second later, bent the water in a lethal slash down through the air, freezing and unfreezing it to ensure the most damaging blow. She forced the element to splice into hundreds of tiny ice darts, focusing it on a certain point in front of her, imagining the cowering enemy kneeling there. She brought the ice back together into one, single piece, and melted it with a flick of her fingers, creeping it around her arms to form tentacle like formations around her arms. She froze the tips, and practised her aim, being sure to strike with the sharp ice ends, before bringing the water around her like armour, each punch from her arm extending the water surrounding it forward, knocking down the invisible enemy. Finally satisfied, she returned the water to its sheath, and fastened it around her waist. When her brother finally emerged from the below deck, and she almost laughed out loud.

"You look terrible!" She teased. "You look like an otter penguin."

Her brother frowned. She flicked some droplets of water at him, and he wiped them away tenderly, careful not to smudge his mask. His eyes were outlined with black, and his cheekbones, chin and jaw were painted white. The rest of his face was painted a soot grey, while he had accented his features by tracing triangles from his hairline to the space between his eyebrows, and two more accenting his chin. White paint which covered his eyebrows and curved around his eyes made him look a lot angrier than normal. He glanced at the reflection in his sword, and looked a little uneasy. The girl laughed.

"Don't worry, you look just like any other warrior." She gave him a tight hug, which he did not return, still a little suspicious of his sister's sudden change in opinions. She let go, and gave him a huge smile. "The enemies will get the fright of their life once they see you."

"I'm not sure if that's supposed to be a good or bad thing."

"Obviously it's good, they run for their lives."

The brother grimaced, and walked off with a flick of his hand. "Forget it, you're no help."

The sister laughed at his retreating figure, then returned to her waterbending. She continued her fierce control of the water, and continued to strike out at her imaginary enemy. The brother noticed that on her face was written the expression of pure malice, and that was just at the empty space in front of her. A chill crawled its way down his spine. He shrugged his shoulders back and shook it off, and walked a bit faster, but could not suppress the iciness which was clawing at his stomach.

 

* * *

 

The boy was now seated on top of the furry beast named Appa. His glider device was tucked by his side, and Zuko and his sister stood by the animal's front legs, looking up at the boy, who looked down with a wide smile.

"What are you going to do now?" said Zuko.

"I don't know. I guess to find the others." The boy replied.

"The others?" Azula said skeptically. "And who exactly are the others?"

"The other monks." The boy said happily. "Thanks for helping, though."

"Wait!" Zuko reached for the reins, stopping the boy from taking off with the Appa-beast. "Aren't you going to tell us who you are?"

The boy shifted uncomfortably. "I'm…Bumi."

Azula stifled a laugh. "Please, we're not dumb. The real King Bumi's in Omashu, picking up the pieces of his city after the Water Tribe siege."

The boy's jaw dropped. "But Bumi's twelve! How can he be ruling Omashu?"

Azula studied the tips of her fingers. "Have you been living under a rock or something? Bumi was twelve about a hundred years ago."

The boy remained silent, eyes wide with confusion. "Last I saw Bumi, he definitely was not King of Omashu. And he was definitely not a hundred and twelve."

"Deal with it kid. He is now." Azula's hands fell to her sides.

The boy's eyes started to narrow. "How long have I been in that rock?"

Zuko shrugged awkwardly. "We just discovered you a few hours ago."

"I could have sworn I was in there for around few weeks."

"Obviously you've been in there much longer." Azula drawled.

The boy ignored her tone. "I remember flying on Appa, flying to the Western Air Temple to continue my airbending-"

"Airbending?" Zuko half said, half shouted. "You're an airbender?"

The boy looked at Zuko strangely. "I can fly, have a sky bison, and just propelled you two from your palace to this place in a matter of seconds. Yes, I think I am an airbender."

"But that's impossible." Azula murmured.

"Why would it be?"

"Because-"

"Because Airbenders just don't end up in the Fire Nation. I wouldn't say our terms are exactly…friendly." Zuko interrupted. "It's just strange that someone dressed as inconspicuously as you were was able to wander into the Fire Nation and get so near the palace, of all places."

Azula shot him a withering look, but remained silent. The airbender nodded. "Then I would like to go back there. To the Eastern Air Temple. I want to see Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders."

"Don't you get it?" Azula said, obviously irritated at the airbenders ignorance. "You've been in there for at least a hundred years."

The airbender froze. "And why would you say that?" He said carefully.

"You said that last you saw King Bumi, he was twelve years old. But everyone knows that he's a hundred and twelve years of age as of this year. From that, we can say that you've been stuck in that rock for at least a hundred years."

The boy's gaze shifted downwards, but he looked up again, and smiled. "Well, nothing bad happened probably. All that matters, is I'm back, and I can go see the monks again."

"You're wrong there, buddy. The Water Tribe happened." Zuko replied.

The boy, who had told the two that his name was Aang, sat in stony silence as Zuko and Azula explained to him the happenings of the past hundred years. The Water Tribes had attacked the Northern Earth Kingdom towns and villages first, and slowly took control of the entire northern most part of the Earth Kingdom. For the time of a hundred years, the Water Tribe's combined forces (along with Earth Kingdom sympathisers) had taken over most of the Kingdom, leaving only small mountainous areas too hard to trek, and the greatest strongholds of all, Omashu and Ba Sing Se. The Fire Nation too had suffered multiple attacks, but they had been fended off as quickly as they came, with defences proving too strong for the Water Tribe warriors.

"Sometime's its good living near a volcano." Azula had remarked at that point in Zuko's explanation. "You can always spread rumours that it's active."

Now, with Ba Sing Se under siege, and Omashu weakening day by day, the Fire Nation was slowly retreating their troops to safeguard the capital, leaving only the infantries deepest in the fighting to battle their way out. The Air Nomads had stayed out of the fighting, and stayed in their temples, vowing only to emerge once the war was over, a vow which they had kept for a hundred years now - no one has seen a single Air Nomad in the last century. Zuko knew this part was somewhat a lie. The Air Nomads had not been seen in the last century, but they didn't exactly make a 'solemn vow' to stay secluded from the rest of the warring world. Zuko hadn't been born yet, but their grandfather Azulon remembered his own father, Fire Lord Sozin mentioning the whole genocide business when he was just a boy.

Zuko didn't like thinking about it, and meeting the last surviving Air Nomad definitely didn't help him in that matter. "And then we found you, Aang." The airbenders unfamiliar name felt somewhat strange on his tongue. "In a rock."

"And thanks for getting me out." Aang replied. "Look, I-" He broke off, looking a bit unsure. "Look, I've got something to tell you too."

Azula leaned forward, thinking that a kid that had been stuck in a rock for a hundred years would have something pretty interesting to say.

"I'm the Avatar."

"Oh?" Was all Zuko could manage. Azula's taunting expression turned cruel.

"The Avatar?" She said. "Then why have you been stuck in a rock when you should have been saving the world?"

Zuko was about to snap the same thing, but the Avatar nodded sadly.

"I'm sorry. Now I see the consequence of my actions." The Avatar said slowly. Zuko's eyes widened. It almost seemed like someone older, and wiser were speaking to them through Aang. Aang's eyes narrowed. "But I never caused this, so I don't have to fix it. It's not my problem anymore. I'll probably just go live with the monks and complete my training."

Azula was still seething. "How could you say that?" She shouted. "The world needs you more than ever!"

"The world created its own problems, and I'm not supposed to solve them! Now, who wants to go koi surfing?"

Azula made some angry noises while the boy excitedly explained his plans for koi surfing. Zuko gave her a shut up already! look, to which she replied. "This kid is hopeless!" Zuko glared at her.

"You're hopeless." Zuko turned to the boy. He looked at Azula. "If there's one thing I know about kids, you need to play to their interests."

"I know a place, called Ember Island. You can go koi surfing there."

Aang's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yes. I'll come with you, and Az-"

"Azula, who is me, will stay behind and cover for Zu-zu here."

Aang looked excited. "Sounds good. I'll ready Appa."

Azula nodded. "Meet you here in an hour then."

A while later, Azula and Zuko were standing in front of Fire Lord Ozai, with Azula detailing Zuko's planned 'journey'.

"Zuko would like to travel the world right now, despite the war, Father. He feels it would be an enriching experience to see the chaos of fighting. Builds character, you see. He thinks he needs that now."

Zuko cut in here. "Father, it may sound strange, but I am conflicted. I feel confined in the palace. I need to go out and find myself through a long journey. I feel it will bring out a better Zuko in me. I have forgotten who I am."

Throughout this, Fire Lord Ozai was listening with a thoughtful look. "Interesting, very interesting, Zuko. I would like to allow you, but why should I let my eldest and only son go? You are the heir to the throne, and if something were to happen to me…"

"Azula is here to help you, Father. Her skills are absolute. She will be better than I ever can be." Zuko said bitingly.

Fire Lord Ozai thought for a moment. "Very well. Go if you must. When will you return?"

"I'm not sure."

"Then goodbye, my son. May we see each other again soon."

"Yes, soon."

Zuko walked back to Aang and Appa with his sister.

"What do you think you're doing?" Azula said.

"I'm going to convince the Avatar to save the world."

"Ah, Zu-zu, that's a pretty big statement. How do you know he will listen to you?"

"I'll figure it out somehow. But he has to learn."

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

 

* * *

 

A little later, after the Fire Prince and the Avatar had hurtled into the sky, Azula would be standing in front of her father, explaining Zuko's departure in greater depth in a bored voice.

"Stupid Zu-zu," She would say. "Always listening to that half-wit Uncle. It's amazing what Uncle can do to people. He always had the greatest effect on our dead Zuko." Azula smirked nastily. "Zuko-kin's is unpredictable, Father. It doesn't surprise me for an instant that he would do this. Besides, he was probably scared that you would disagree and make him stay, when he wanted so badly to leave and find something to do with his boring life. That was probably why he asked so suddenly. In hopes of getting a 'yes'. And come to think of it, why he didn't give you time to consider. Good for our little Zu-Zu, really. Didn't know he was so dedicated to the Fire Nation to the point he would leave it to make him a better future Fire Lord."

That had left the Fire Lord somewhat satisfied.

"He should have said goodbye properly." The Fire Lord sneered at Azula.

"Ah, well. Zu-zu never was one for familial affection. Ever since Mother died."

* * *

**Hope you liked it! Constructive criticism is always appreciated xx**


	3. Searching

Chapter 3

100 AG, Summer

Aang and Zuko realised that they weren’t the most suited travelling companions. While Zuko preferred constant preparation and hard work, Aang had the more laid-back personality, and upon arrival to the summer palace, Aang had immediately laid down by Appa and left out a deep sigh, only to be disturbed by Zuko, who was waving the scrolls in his face. “C’mon! Practice! You’re the Avatar, remember?” 

“Geez Zuko.” Aang laughed. “It’s been a few hours of flying! Appa and I are tired, we do need sleep you know.”

“That’s what the nights for!” 

Aang stared glumly at the scrolls. “Just because I’m the Avatar doesn’t mean I should be gearing up for a fight every minute, every hour!”

“Actually, it does.” Zuko’s eyes narrowed into slits. 

Aang flopped back against Appa. “Too bad for you, this Avatar isn’t like that.” Aang snuck a peek at Zuko’s flabbergasted face and sighed. “I just want to go koi surfing. But first, lets eat!”

Zuko started to argue about rationing, but gave up when he saw the determination in Aang’s eyes as he reached for the satchel full of food. He pulled out the food, and pushed the sausage towards Zuko. He took the berries and bananas. Zuko raised an eyebrow. “You sure? Best Komodo sausage around?” 

“Nah. Airbenders are vegetarian.” Aang said nonchalantly, biting into the banana. “We bake amazing fruit pies though. Mmmm…they were delicious.” He tossed the rest of banana to Appa. 

Zuko shrugged. “Your loss.” He gnawed on the sausage, selfishly relieved he didn’t have share the delicacy. 

“Tell you what? Right after this lets go to the Northern Air Temple! And you can try our pies.” Aang looked up at the sky, as if he was daydreaming about those pies. They must’ve been good. 

Zuko shook his head. “How about we go down along the coast? We can stop by the villages then move up along the Earth Kingdom. We’ll stop by the Air Temples on the way.” I’d better come up with excuses later, when the time comes. 

Aang shrugged. “I suppose. It always wanted to travel the world. I guess it’s the scenic route back home.”

Zuko rolled his eyes.  
***

The thing about war is that you find that it brings out the best in people, as much as it brings out the worst. These were the thoughts of Hyun Jin as she sat in a crossed-legged position on a simply-woven mat. She thought about the Fire Lord. No, not that Fire Lord. She thought about Fire Lord Sozin. He lifted his head a little and gazed at the table which was set with a simple candle and a wooden statue which was fashioned into the likes of that certain Fire Lord. She bowed slowly, arms stretched in front of his head, his hands next to each other and parallel to the ground, pressing his palms to the ground, then rose. 

She looked calmly at Fire Lord Sozin’s jaggedly carved eyes. She noted the absence of the Royal hair-clasp which had been bequeathed to the Fire Lord years ago. Her thoughts raced. Was in it the spirit of friendship, and not so much the terrors of war that had managed to bring such a drastic to that certain Fire Lord? She smiled softly, and stood up gracefully, smoothing her robes with the chapped palms of her hands.

She started to rethink her theory. The thing about war was that it always reminded us of the things we had, the people we loved, the relationships we treasured, the things that were yet to be lost, and that our future was blurred, and you had to fight to get a clearer picture. 

***

100 AG, Summer  
1st Day of the 8th Month

Katara was extremely bored. Sailing from the Southern Water Tribe to Ba Sing Se was extremely boring. There were no ships to sink, no soldiers to defeat - they were either around Ba Sing Se, or docked in the Fire Nation (since the only ships that they had ever seen around these parts were Fire Nation). She turned to find her father - he had yet to tell her and Sokka the plan of attack. The door to below deck was flung open just seconds before her hands closed around the handle, and she jumped back, staring up at Chief Hakoda, her father. 

“Chief!” The crewmen bowed quickly, and continued their work when Hakoda nodded absent-mindedly at them. 

“Father.” Katara said smoothly, bowing down in a quick, fluid motion - much unlike the clumsy bowing that the crew often performed. 

“My daughter.” He smiled down at her. “Come.”

Katara followed him below deck, where he led her through a labyrinth of corridors and doors, until finally he stopped outside a particularly ornate one. The door swung open, and Lieutenant Arrluk met them with a long, hard stare before letting them through. Katara had always felt scared of Arrluk. With sharp features, a protruding forehead which shadowed his eyes, and a long scar which wound from his right temple to the middle of his neck, he was the very picture of intimidating. But, he did the job. His forces, no matter how small, were always…invigorated by his presence, and under his expert command, they would often dominate the battlefield. He and his most elite legion of a hundred fighters were accompanying them on the ship to support the Ba Sing Se siege efforts, which had come to no avail. The General on the other side of the wall had slowly been strengthening the inner war using Earthbending, according to the lookouts. With a garrison of powerful Earthbenders expanding the walls width, and the Earth and Fire soldiers were slowly clearing the area around the inner wall, forming makeshift walls with combined forces. There was also a rumour of a lavabender. Too bad the Water Tribe had Arrluk. 

The Lieutenant led them into the room, which was simply furnished, with a simple square table in the middle, upon which was a large map of Ba Sing Se and the surrounding land and coast line. Hakoda sat in a chair which was at the opposite end of Arrluk’s. Katara joined Sokka on a simple bench which was pushed against the wall, just below a small rounded window. 

“Hello Chief, Lieutenant.” A man slipped through the door, and emerged from the shadows. He turned to the siblings. A smile formed on his features. “Katara, Sokka.” 

“Bato.” Hakoda said cheerfully. “Come and join us. Your advice would be greatly appreciated.”  
A dark look crossed Bato’s face and he shook his head. “No, I would rather sit and watch.” Hakoda raised his eyebrows. “In silence.”Bato added.

“Lieunenant, whenever you’re ready.” 

Katara leaned forward, peering intently at the map. Arrluk’s hand traced the current path of their ship, and slammed a finger down on a makeshift port which was nestled into a rounded cliffside that their allies had set up previously. “If our calculations are correct, we arrive at dusk and dock here, then regroup with the others to set up camp. At dawn, we march on Ba Sing Se. My guess is that they concentrate soldiers on the north-east side of the wall, which is where our current forces are stationed. We split the forces, one to four. The smaller group will support the north-eastern side, while the rest will circle around against the inner wall and attack from the south-west.”

“How will we enter Ba Sing Se from there?” Katara interjected. “We have only breached the outer wall, not the inner.”

Arrluk smiled. “Thank you, Katara. I’m glad you asked that.” Katara felt a chill go down her spine. “You will find that we have too many allies to count, if we just tried to find them. Even if it uses a little bit of…persuasion. We…no, I have recruited a few powerful Earthbenders from around the Earth Kingdom. We will use them to bore a hole through the ground and under the inner wall, and emerge on the other side, surprising the Earth Kingdom forces, and subsequently defeating them. Ba Sing Se will be ours by evening, and the six-hundred-day siege of Ba Sing Se will be over.” Arrluk finished proudly. 

Bato shared a skeptical look with Hakoda, and the Chief voiced his and Bato’s shared concerns. “And how do we know these Earthbenders are loyal? Who’s to say they will carry out their duties gladly, and assist us in defeating their Kingdom’s greatest city?”

“To human nature, money is a much stronger weapon than you think, Chief Hakoda.” Arrluk said quietly. “Besides, people’s loyalty often lies to themselves rather than to others, more often than not. These are the most ruthless mercenaries that are round here. Emotionless fighters with a heart of stone which feels no pity, and a brain with one setting - to fight, and to win, and the reap the rewards.”

Sokka shifted uncomfortably, and Katara couldn’t help but felt a lot more skeptical of this plan than before she asked the question. But Hakoda looked pleased. “Good work, Lieunenant.”  
“Anything for the victory and honour of our Tribe.”

Honour. 

The word repeated in Sokka’s mind after the meeting. What was honour for the Water Tribe? He had seen the atrocities of war. Were they honourable? Surely the Water Tribe had changed the world, by sharing the benefits of water bending with the other nations. Healing - such a precious commodity, previously only accessible in the Tribes, but now available everywhere…if you looked hard enough. And they had shared with so many the great stories of the Water Tribes, the rare delicacies, the wonder of Tui and La? Honour? Weren’t their intentions honourable? They wanted Ba Sing Se, a hub of the world, so they could further expand their reach of Water Tribe influence. Healing! Surely the healing aspect of water bending was a precious commodity, to be shared with the world. Was there not honour in that? He had seen the happy villagers, smiling as their escort passed through their streets. But he also saw the dullness in their eyes, the calluses on their hands and feet. He had seen the rags, but he had seen the silks and velvets too. He had seen so many things, he didn’t know what was true and what wasn’t. 

But surely, this war was because of the Water Tribe’s decision to share its wonders with the rest of the world, rather than the greedy need for more land, for more power, for the title of having Dominion Over The World. But Father…he’d never do that. He loved his Tribe and wanted to share it with the world. He never wanted to be the one supreme leader. He was his father. He loved Sokka and Katara and Mother. Surely he was content with them always supporting him, loving him, being there for him.   
He started to think of the women back in the south, sleeping without their husbands, and the young children, running to their mothers to teach them to fish and hunt instead of their fathers, because they weren’t there. He thought about Mother, sitting alone in their home, cooking and cleaning and sewing, and constantly looking up at every noise, if only it meant that her family was coming back home. But they were fighting, away fighting, hungry for victory and holding honour in their hearts. 

Then he looked at the wooden ship with the soldiers laughing and smiling and chatting and looking out on the horizon and he felt at ease. No one was worried, so why should he be? He looked at Katara, practicing her water gimbal, and Father, practicing swordplay against Bato. These are men (and a woman) with honour, who fight for their Tribe, and not for themselves. 

Then he looks at Arrnuk and sees nothing. 

Well, nothing good, anyways. 

***  
“Hngh!” Zuko punched forwards, releasing a short, but rather large spout of fire from his knuckles. Fervent clapping came from his right side. 

“Good job Zuko!” Aang said happily, still wet from the koi surfing just now. “That’s the fifth time this afternoon. Two more and you’ll have three in a row!”

“Thanks.” Zuko grumbled. “Very encouraging.”

He repeated the punch repeatedly, letting out a few considerable smaller and shorter squirts of flame, then delivered a final push using his leg, which produced a much larger flame, while burned for a few seconds longer then normal. Now, Aang was on his feet, running over to Zuko. He grasped Zuko by the shoulders and shook his happily. “Yes Zuko! You did it!”

Zuko looked sheepish. “I still need a Master.” 

“Yes, you should. If we want to travel around, you should have learn some basic defence.”

“And offense.” Zuko added. 

Aang cringed. Zuko had guessed he wasn’t much of a fighter. “So, any idea where we can find a Master for you?” Aang asked. 

“I’ve heard of a few.” He said. “But they’re all too far away. It’ll be at most a week of flying.” 

“Then thats out of the question.” Aang shook his head. He glanced at Appa. “What are we gonna do now, bud? …Wait a minute. Zuko?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Appa is a flying bison, and they’re the original airbenders. The monks told me a stories of how an airbender learnt airbending techniques from his bison.” 

“And?”  
“Bison are the original airbenders! Maybe you could learn firebending from the original fire benders?”

“Oh. That’s not possible.” 

“Why?” 

“My uncle. He killed the last dragon.” 

Aang’s eyes widened. “I’ve really been away for a long time, haven’t I?”

Zuko looked a little sad. “Yes. You have.”

“But there’s still a chance!” Aang declared, and Zuko felt like smacking him. Spirits, this kid doesn’t give up. Well, anything to keep him away from the Air Temples.

“Huh. Well, if you must, we should go to the Sun Warrior’s city to find them. That’s where Uncle when to find the dragon.” 

“Then, that’s where we’re heading.” Aang said, already perched on Appa’s back. “Time to find Zuko a Firebending Master!” He said dramatically. “Then we can go diving!” 

Zuko grabbed the satchel, and clambered onto Appa’s back. 

Yip yip.


	4. Fire

#  Chapter 4 

## 100 AG, Summer 1st Day of the 8th Month

Azula sat perched on the shelf, chin resting on her balled up fist. Admiral Zhao was inside discussing plans for the Water Tribe with the Father Lord, and she was outside waiting and wondering how in the name of Vaatu did they not have the forces to defeat the Water Tribe? She couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that the Water Tribe was beating the other three nations senseless. And she thought that the Fire Nation had always been the strongest. Guess it was the Water Tribes now. 

She was knocked out of her thoughts by a loud crash, followed by muffled shouting. Was that smoke she could smell too? Damn door. Moments later, Zhao stormed out of the room, and Fire Lord Ozai followed after, expressionless. He looked to his side, and saw Azula sitting there. He sighed. 

“Did you hear all that?” He said, a tinge of annoyance in his tone. 

“Yes, Father.” Azula lied. “Care to explain what it was about?” 

Ozai slipped into the room silently, and Azula took that as a yes. She was only slightly surprised at what she saw. The table which was usually in the middle of the room had been knocked over, and the surrounding furniture had been charred quite badly. A burnt map sat on the ground. Azula could barely see the markings that were supposed to mark out attack plans, until Zhao set fire to the place. 

“He didn’t agree with your plan, Father.” 

“Obviously.” He said stiffly. 

“Make him pay.” 

The Fire Lord sat down in his ornate chair (which was miraculously unburnt) “Azula, there is much you don’t understand. Perhaps you should have gone with your brother to reform yourself. Then I would get two children who were actually worthwhile.” 

“We wouldn’t be useless if you wouldn’t teach us firebending!” Azula shot back. “Oh, but you won’t, because you’re too scared of your seventeen year old son and fifteen year old daughter taking your throne from you!” She said sarcastically. 

“Azula.” Ozai said carefully. “Admiral Zhao will not be dealt with. And if I were going to, I would decide myself on how so, not my daughter.” 

“Fine, fine.” Azula drawled. “But what was it Zhao was so upset about anyways?”

“We Firebenders must take the offensive against the Water Tribe, according to Admiral Zhao. Yet our troops are tired from the Battle of Omashu, and half of them are left at Ba Sing Se. And-“

“Without our men at top fighting capacity, it would be a suicide mission.” Azula finished. She flashed a smile at her father.

“You will not interrupt me again, Azula.” He stared intently at her with fiery gold eyes, his thin lips set in a straight line. Azula knew this look. She had pushed him past his limit. 

“Yes father.” Another lie. Ha, he had no idea how many lies she had told in the past few days, and they weren’t all spoken to him.

“I agree with him. The Fire Nation will not look weak in the face of an enemy. The Tribes had retreated from Omashu for a few weeks now; the wounded are healing, the dead are buried. We have a war on our hands, and the Fire Nation will not lose. Azula, I need you to bring in our most talented engineers. It’s time to meet water with fire, and we know what happens to water under heat.” 

\---------------------------------------

**100 AG  
2nd Day of the 8th Month**

Zuko and Aang had arrived the day before, but late into the night, so they had both fallen asleep on Appa, both equally exhausted. The next morning, when Aang woke up with a start, and immediately noticed the lack of fur underneath him.

“Appa? Appa! Appa, boy, where are you? Appa! Appa! APPA!” 

Zuko awoke with a start. “Huh…”

Aang rushed to his side. “Appa’s missing! Zuko!” 

But Zuko wasn’t listening. He slowly got to his feet, and stared at the room which they were in. “Woah.” They were in a huge, square room, which was in laid with gold-and-red wallpapers and embellished with even more gold. They were lying in a middle of a circle, which was patterned with something like a flower, and around them were a series of statues which stood on top of a stand curved into an incomplete ‘o’ shape From the looks of it, there were two sides, and each side was perfectly symmetrical. Aang walked over to a plaque which was fastened to the stand. 

“It says that this is the Dancing Dragon form.” 

Zuko stood in the middle with his arms crossed, looking around, while Aang mimicked the movements. He felt his foot move downwards, and a soft click, and he realised that copying the position, they triggered the pads to unlock…something. He rushed over to Zuko, and grabbed him by the arm. 

“Zuko! Dance with me.”

“Wait, what with you?” 

“Dance with me!” Aang dragged the Fire Prince over to the other side of the circle and pointed at the statue. “Just copy whatever the statues do.” Aang got into position on his side. “Okay, on the count of three. One…two…three!” 

The duo moved their way down and around the circle fluidly, adapting to the movements as if it were something that they always knew, only that they had forgotten it for a while. Aang felt a rush of adrenaline as he rounded the side to move towards the end, to finish with a cool looking twist, according to the statues. He felt both his fists meet with Zuko’s, and heard a final click, and a sound that could only be metal moving against metal. Zuko and Aang turned to see a pedestal emerge from the ground, with a golden, shiny, egg-light object seated in the middle. Zuko moved forwards, arms outstretched, enchanted by the raw beauty of the object (Aang as well). Zuko was just about to grasp the object when there was a flash of fire, and Aang pushed Zuko back with a slash of his staff, the fire singing the edges of their clothes. 

“Stop! And stay away from the Sunstone.” 

Aang could see the silhouette of a man behind the wall of fire which blocked the Sunstone from view. 

“What do you want here?” The man behind the fire wall boomed. 

“I’m looking for a Firebending Master’s to teach me Firebending.” Zuko said simply. No point lying with a wall of fire an arms-length away. 

“Then you have found them. But whether you are worthy or not, remains to be seen. Who are you?” 

“I’m the Avatar, and my friend is Prince Zuko.” Aang replied. 

“Prince Zuko?” The man laughed. “I know your family. Your fire comes from your hunger for the power and destruction it brings.” 

Aang was slightly puzzled at this remark – destruction? Zuko remained silent at this remark. 

“And the Avatar?” Aang could feel the man’s hard stare through the fire wall. “You, you do not know firebending. You have fire, that is for sure, but whether you can bend it, that remains to be seen.”  
Zuko stepped forward confidently, ignoring the sweltering heat of fire wall. “Then I suppose you know why I’m, we’re here.” Aang looked a little flustered at this. “To learn to use our inner fire.” 

“A Crown Prince of the Fire Nation surely doesn’t need our help, nor would he possibly be worthy of it.” The man scoffed. 

“Personality is not hereditary, sir.” Zuko said stiffly. “I humbly ask of you to accept me as your students to learn the ways of firebending.”

The man did not reply, so Zuko ventured on nervously. “I’m assuming you will be our masters?” He paused for a moment, before continuing. “If you agree, that is.” 

“No. We are merely the Master’s esteemed…protectors.” The man said slowly. “And it is up to them to approve of you.”

There was some hushed conversations behind the wall of fire. 

“We will take you to the Masters, where you will face their judgement. If they agree, you will be trained by us. If they do not, however, you will die.” 

Aang and Zuko winced, but both shared the same exact determined look. They nodded. 

The wall was brought down in a flash of orange flame, and Aang and Zuko almost doubled back in surprise. There was a large group of people standing on the other side, covered in yellow and red paint, and dressed in an interesting assortment of clothing. Many of them wore golden earrings and simple headbands wrapped around their foreheads, the men in knee-length red of white loincloths and the women in red chest wrappings, and a longer loincloths, down to the middle of their thighs. Many of them had large, heavy-looking gold collars (which stretched across their shoulder blades and just below their collarbones) that were covered in simple gold engravings. They had long, silky black hair, some styled in a high ponytail, while some had it cut into a mohawk. The man who had talked to them was standing in front of the group, wearing similar clothing, except with a more elaborate headdress which had huge white feathers coming out from the band – the only sign of any rank superiority. Other than that, and his aura of power that set him apart from the others, there was nothing very special about the man. Zuko’s attention shifted from their appearances to figuring out who in the name of Agni had just agreed to bring them to the ‘Masters’. Zuko started to wonder what they were thinking, coming here in the first place. 

The man turned and walked through the crowd of people, who parted to make way for him. Zuko and Aang followed. Zuko bent down and whispered.

“Aang, any idea who they are?” 

“Sir, might I ask, but who are you and your people?” Aang said loudly, flashing a grin at Zuko. 

Zuko gritted his teeth. Spirits, the Avatar is the most naïve kid I’ve ever know – I would have thought he knew who they were, otherwise why would he agree? Zuko’s fingernails dug into his palms in frustration. 09

The man’s eyes narrowed. “We are the Sun Warriors.” 

Zuko gawped. “What? The Sun Warriors?” Aang just seemed mesmerized. 

“Yes, the Sun Warriors, Prince Zuko. Why, thought that every Firebender is corrupted by your family’s evil?”

Aang remembered the comment the Chief had made earlier, about the destruction that the Fire Nation brought, and now the Fire Nation royals were evil? And he thought that the Water Tribe were the bad guys here. The Avatar made a mental note to grill Zuko about this afterwards, if there was going to be an afterwards. 

Zuko didn’t even flinch. “No, I just thought you were legends. Words on paper. My Uncle…” Zuko trailed off here, a hand circling his other wrist nervously. 

“Ah, well praises to the spirits that most legends are not completely untrue.” There was a sly sparkle in the Chief’s eyes now. 

“Uh, yes. A relief.” 

Aang’s gaze switched from Zuko to the Chief. “Where are these Masters that you protect?” Now he was genuinely interested. 

The Chief pointed vaguely in the direction of a cluster of mountains. “They move around, but they mostly always are in the same place when strangers come for a Judging.” 

“What will happen?” 

“Simple. They will look into your heart and measure your worthiness to learn the secrets of Firebending.” 

“They must be very strict Masters then.” Aang mused. 

“The best of the best.” 

They continued along a path, before stopping in front of a huge fire which was contained within a huge metal dish. The Chief took a part of the fire in his hands, and split it, giving one to each of the benders. “Bring this to the Masters and present it to them as a symbol of offering and a show of respect. Do not let it go out. Even I do not know what would happen if it did.” 

They were then led to a large stone gorge, where there were a huge flight of steps leading up to a stone bridge suspended between two similar mountains. On each side of the bridge there were two caves, which were completely covered in dark shadows. A circle of Sun Warriors around the clearing bent fire in a spinning circle, others beat loud drums, and others bowed down before the flight of steps fervently, as if worshiping an almighty God. Aang was the first to step onto the stairs, and Zuko followed quickly after, gently cradling his flame in his hands. Honestly, it was a lot easier controlling a flame that was given to him, rather than a flame he had produced himself. If just seemed a lot steadier, and stronger. Aang, on the other hand, had strugged to maintain a decently sized flame. His flame had almost extinguished a few times previously, and when it hadn’t been a miniscule dash of light, it had been a huge, flaming beast, at which Aang would scream and shout and almost extinguish it from shock. After a few moments, and a few pointers from Zuko, Aang had managed to maintain a decent, if not a bit on the small size, flame, which was good enough, in Zuko’s opinion. 

They had reached the middle of the steps now. Zuko was repeating Uncle’s hushed lessons in his head. Fuel the fire with your inner heat. Use your chi to control and bend it. Stances and moves must be powerful, hard, strong. Be firm, do not hesitate. Hesitation and doubt will only weaken the flame, while anger, hatred, violence fans it into a blazing fire. Find balance between the two opposites. Stay strong, but calm. Stay firm, but not in your anger. Use your inner fire as a fuel, not your hatred. Firebend because you have felt and need love, not because you felt and need hate. There had been more to the lesson, but Zuko could barely remember what was said, it was so long ago. 

They had reached the top. Zuko’s flame was still moderately strong, thanks to Uncle, and Aang’s was alright, he supposed, considering that the Avatar only ever learned Airbending. The louding booming from the drums were considerably louder now, and there was a soft chanting coming from the gathered Warriors. Zuko and Aang stood back to back, staring at the dark entrance of the cave before them, presenting their flame, wondering what was going to happen next.

“Zuko, I didn’t want to do this! I just wanted to go koi surfing!” 

“Shut up, Aang. You’re the Avatar, you’ll have the learn firebending one way or another.”

“But I don’t want to be-”

Nothing could have prepared them for what was going to happen next.

Two dragons, one blue and one red, burst from the two entrances, and started to loop around the bridge and stairs, dancing in a beautiful formation, endless, perfect, graceful, and…wait. Dragons? Zuko’s shock had quickly escalated to despair when he realized that his flame had disappeared upon the two dragons appearances. Aangs too – he could see the Airbenders hands hanging limply in front of Aang, as he gaped at the two mythical, and supposed-to-be-extinct Firebenders.  
Zuko almost expected the dragons to stop their looping and burn them to a crisp, but they did not – they just kept dancing. 

“Zuko.” Aang nudged Zuko in the ribs. “Any ideas on why the dragons are dancing?” 

Zuko shrugged, more nervous than intrigued. “Don’t know.” 

Aang was silent for a moment, then he shook Zuko’s arm fiercely. “Zuko, they want us to dance with them.” 

Zuko’s eyes narrowed, but he saw the Avatar’s point. The dragons were dancing, and they had learned the –

“Dancing Dragon formation.” Aang said quickly. “Quick Zuko, just dance with me one last time.”

Zuko tried to scrape together the memories of the formation, and as it came back to him, it came to his naturally, as if he always knew the ancient forms. Like they were second nature to him. His fists came into contact with Aang’s and they stopped, eyes widening as the two dragons landed on either side of the bridge, their gold eyes pinned on them. It felt as if they were looking right into their souls, and seeing things within them even either of they actually knew was there. Like they were being turned inside and out, probed and prodded. Like their mind was a bookshelf, waiting to be read. 

Then the dragon’s presence in them was gone, and all that was left was their intimidating molten gold stare. Then a whirl of colour formed around them, filled with gold, red, green, blue, every colour imaginable. There was a certain heat coming from it, like it was fire, but it couldn’t possibly be it. How could fire, the very epitome of power, be so beautiful, so entrancing. Aang tried to think of one person who looked into the flames of a firebender and thought them pretty. Then he understood, as did Zuko, who at that moment remembered Uncle Iroh’s last part of his lesson, spoken in front of three eager young children yet to have known the world outside which would make their power necessary. For now, Uncle Iroh had thought, give them the truth, the warm, kind, truth which no one thougth was true. 

“Little ones, remember this, and do not forget: No matter what people say, or what they ever will say, never forget that fire is life. Fire is life. Where there is fire, there is always a great deal of life nearby.” 

Aang nudged Zuko in the ribs. “Okay. Maybe I might just want to learn a little bit.” 

\---

The Water Tribe girl could just see the sliver of land which signaled their arrival at Ba Sing Se. She could practically see the victory, as well.


	5. Comrade

Chapter 5 

Lieutenant Arrluk had been drilling the troops when land had been sighted. As per normal, he had arranged the soldiers in accordance to their important in the imminent battle. The Earthbenders were right in front, the Waterbenders right behind, and the non-benders right at the back. He always knew the prejudice and what some would say, unfairness, of his ways, but who really cared, if they won the battle in the end? He’d say that a victory is much more precious than what was done to achieve that victory. 

No one had asked questions so far, maybe because they were scared. Of the battle? Yes, probably. But of him? Oh, definitely. 

He had revised the plan again with the troops, highlighting the important points of the operation with such ferocity that he could literally see the soldiers’ unease. “The Earthbenders will tunnel under the wall, bending the Earth into a tunnel leading straight…here. Arrluk had slammed his finger to a tiny point on the map of Ba Sing Se. It’s a small guard outpost, with only a few benders standing guard. From there, we will split ground and cover the whole north-east section of the inner wall. Earthbenders will rendezvous at this point after it has been secured, and they will blast a tunnel underneath the inner wall and to where are troops are stationed. From there, we will infiltrate the city and capture the Earth Queen. An elite squad will be sent to the palace for the capture.” Arrluk had glanced at the small group of agents that had been sitting quietly in shadows by his right. 

“Long Feng and his Dai Li Agents will be in charge of the capturing, and imprisonment of the Earth Queen.” At this, the said Long Feng had stood up, and bowed deeply to Arrluk. 

“We are honored to be part of this operation. The Dai Li and I are loyal to you and your cause.” Arrluk had noticed a young girl in the group of Earthbender’s shift uncomfortably. “Best of wishes to the rest of you. The Dai Li are focused on our aim. Any help requested will not be delivered.” More uncomfortable shifting. 

Arrluk was brought out of his musing by the loud slam of door against wood. He and the others looked to the source of the noise, and all got to their feet when Chief Hakoda and his two children entered. 

Katara looked around the room. There was nothing especially unusual about the setting, just that she could see all the Water Tribe warriors behind the green-clad Earthbenders. She narrowed her eyes at them, noting the blue sash that they had been given to signify their allegiance to the Tribes. The Water Tribe insignia was stitched into it. Arrluk was already in battle uniform – the usual lieutenant garb, a simple blue tunic covered in silver-and-black armor strapped with metal brackets, and fitted, lighter blue pants, completed with knee and elbow guards, and armored boots. His wolf-style helmet was on a chair next to him. She rolled her eyes at Arrluks dramatic hairstyle – a braided abomination tied back and rolled into a bun, the sides sheared short so there was only a short layer of hair on either side of his head. He had outlined the area around his eyes, chin and cheeks with white paint, but had painstakingly traced a thin line over and under his eyes. Sure, he did indeed look menacing, but still. She did know him, and seeing the terrifying man in such elaborate hairstyle and makeup was slightly amusing. 

Sokka nudged her in the ribs, grinning. She grinned back. She and Sokka both knew what the other was thinking about. Their father bowed to the group. 

“May honor be upon you, soldiers. Ba Sing Se will fall at our attack, and the greatest stronghold in the Earth Kingdom will fall! Tui and La bless us.”

“Tui and La guide us.” Came the customary reply. Katara supposed that they could have sounded a little bit less lackluster. 

“You are dismissed. We prepare for our arrival in,” The Lieutenant looked at the Chief. 

“Half an hour.” Hakoda finished. “Stand in formation upon our arrival and disperse into your respective bunks at the camp. If there are insufficient sleeping quarters, there are tents and beds available on the boat for you.” 

“Yes, Chief Hakoda. Yes, Lieutenant Arrluk.” 

The soldiers slowly started to filter out of the room, leaving Arrluk, Hakoda, Katara and Sokka alone in the room. Hakoda sent a smile in the Lieutenant’s direction. “Good job Arrluk. I thank the spirits for your strong presence.” 

Arrluk bowed deeply. “I humbly return the compliment.” He said sharply. 

Katara and Sokka bowed slightly – the children of a Chief were not required to bow to anyone below them – while Hakoda did not. “Clear your mind Lieutenant, a great battle is upon us.”

“That has already been done. As I previously said – anything for the glory and the honor of the Water Tribes.”  
Later on, Sokka stood at the hull of a ship, staring at the slowly approaching sliver of land that they were heading towards. Lieutenant Arrluk was on his mind. He didn’t know why, just the way the man acted, the way he talked, what he said…and the gleam in his eye when he said his famous mantra. It was terrifying. When he said he’d do anything, Sokka got the creeping feeling he would do anything. He started drawing up the worst things that Arrluk could possibly do for the glory and honor of the Water Tribe, and started to think that the things would do the exact opposite. 

Once again, his thoughts shifted to himself. What would he do for the glory and honor of the Water Tribe? And why would he do it? Surely the Water Tribe’s had a good reason for anything for whatever they had done – if anything was dishonorable, he would know, since all plans were shared with the Southern Water Tribe’s son. 

“Ugh!” Sokka threw his hands up in the air and buried his face in his palms. “What is wrong with me?” 

“You don’t seem so good.” Came a voice. Sokka looked around, startled, then his eyes landed on the girl standing next to him, who was smiling mischievously. Her eyes were hidden by a mane of black hair. 

“Yeah, I guess I don’t.” Sokka pursed his lips. The girl was wearing traditional Earth Kingdom garb – a wraparound cream tunic which stretched down to her knees and split from her thigh onwards, a pair of simple green pants, and a heavy looking leather belt studded with metal. Her sleeves were split and tied together at her elbows, and her arms were covered in simple white wrappings and on her wrist, a thick black bracelet, similar in style to her belt. Her black hair was tied back in a braided bun, which was secured by a green-and-white headband. A long, unruly fringe shielded her eyes from view. 

The girl remained silent at his remark. Sokka suddenly felt awkward. “So…you’re one of those Earthbenders.”  
“Yeah, got a problem with that?” 

“I don’t know, would have thought you’d have been a guy.” 

A fist barely missed his cheek. “Watch what you’re saying, idiot! Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I’m hopeless!” 

Sokka raised his arms in surrender. “Okay, I’m sorry! I guess, I would have thought you’d be younger.” 

The girl lowered her fist. “Fair enough, but rich coming from another kid’s mouth.”

Sokka almost didn’t feel like talking to his girl, who obviously would shoot a snarky remark back at him every time he said something. “Just so you know, I’m almost eighteen, so I’m not going to be a kid any longer.”

“Liar. You’re ages away from eighteen. Your voice betrays you, pretty-boy.”

Sokka’s hand flew to his face. “Fine. I’m sixteen, but I’m getting close! Argh, I almost don’t feel like talking to you right now!” 

“Whatever. Then why are you still here?” 

Sokka made to march away angrily, but the girl grabbed his arm. “Look, I’m sorry. I just tend to act a lot rougher and stuff nowadays, because of…things.” 

Sokka shrugged, and returned to his previous position by the girl. “So, you’re one of those Earthbenders Lieutenant Arrluk hired.

“Yep.”

Sokka said casually. “But won’t you feel bad fighting against your own people? Lieutenant must have paid you tons of money to convince you to join us.” He got a bit flustered after that, cursing his own tongue.

“We’re full of surprises.” 

“And I thought Earth Kingdom people were the most stubborn.” 

The girl smirked. “We are.” 

“I’m Sokka, by the way.” 

The girl’s face shifted towards him. Another smirk formed on her lips. “As if I didn’t know, Sokka.” 

“Aren’t you going to tell me your name?” 

“I don’t think that’s necessary.” Her face turned to him, and her fringe shifted slightly to the side. 

“C’mon, Miss Mystery, you can’t avoid it for-” Sokka stopped, noticing the milky green underneath the fringe. Her eyes. “Are-are you blind?”

The girl blew the hair away from her face. Sokka got a full view of her milky green eyes. “Yes, I am. What difference does it make?”

“Uh, a lot of difference?”

“Not to me.” 

Sokka stared at her, feeling slightly intrigued. There was something about this girl that he couldn’t read, not in the Lieutenant Arrluk kind of way, but a nicer version of him, like Bato when he fell silent and his thoughts formed creases in his forehead. 

“I may be blind, but I can feel you staring at me, you dingus.” The girl delivered a casual jab in the ribs. 

“Ouch! Sorry, sorry.” 

“S’okay. Just don’t worry about it. I learnt a long time ago to accept myself. Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without my blindness. I don’t really care about it that much.”

“Fine, if that’s what makes you happy.” Sokka tore his eyes from her milky ones. “So…what’s your-”

“Toph. It’s Toph.” The girl smiled widely at him for a moment, before her mouth relapsed into the customary smirk. 

“Toph.” Sokka repeated her name, and felt strangely familiar with it. “Hello, Toph.”

“Hello, Sokka.” 

Sokka was about to reply when Lieutenant Arrluk and his father emerged from below deck, and Arrluk shouted for formation. The girl- Toph, she grabbed Sokka’s arm, nodding towards the sound of Arrluk’s voice. 

“This seems stupid, but can you lead me over to the other Earthbenders? I stand right on the end, next to the big fat one with four teeth.” 

Sokka was startled by the sudden contact. “Uh, alright.” 

“Thanks.” 

 

Katara narrowed her eyes at the sight of Sokka leading an Earthbender from the front of the ship to where they were. Since when did Sokka ever talk to an Earthbender? Obviously they were comfortable with each other to the point that he willingly walked with her on his arm. She grinned stupidly. Oh, the drama. What would father say when he saw? Turns out he had, and was nudging Katara. 

“What is your brother doing?” He said slyly. 

“I don’t know,” Katara replied, winking. 

Father and daughter shared a knowing glance, which was to be interrupted by the one and only Sokka, who had deposited the mystery girl by the other Earthbenders. 

“Who’s that?” Hakoda and Katara asked, practically within milliseconds of each other.

“Oh, spirits, don’t tell me you’ve been thinking what I think you have been thinking!” Sokka whined. “Tui and La, I met her just now! She’s blind, so she asked me to lead her to her position.” 

Katara deflated a bit. She raised an eyebrow. “If she’s blind, why did Arrluk hire her? Knowing him, he wouldn’t ever hire a blind girl that needed someone to lead them to the other side of the ship.”

“Don’t ask me. She didn’t say anything about her Earthbending.”

Hakoda looked at the girl curiously. “What is her name?”

“Toph.”

“Ah. Her. Toph Beifong. Lieutenant mentioned her. She’s a Master Earthbender apparently. Not sure if I believe it, but Lieutenant Arrluk and the other Earthbenders certainly did.” 

Katara shrugged. “We’ll see what she’s got on the battlefield.”

\---

100 AG  
3rd Day of the 8th Month – The Battle for Ba Sing Se 

Ah, the battlefield. Bloody, gory, dangerous, and especially not suitable for the three youngest of the fighting force – a thirteen-year-old, sixteen-year-old, and a seventeen-year-old. What exactly they were doing there was unclear. Just that they were warriors, with the over twenty’s, fighting for a cause that had been distorted by years of war. 

So then first, there was darkness. Darkness and the dry dirt of a tunnel. Then second, there was light. 

Followed closely by fire.


	6. Battle

Chapter 6 

“They’re here!” Someone shouted. Was it a Water Tribe warrior? Or Earth Kingdom soldier? 

Katara’s head rang. She took a few seconds to realize what had just happened. They had just emerged from the tunnel to meet a blast of sunlight and earth and fire. Now, with battalions of enemies stood around them, half from Earth, half of Fire, and they were attacking them. She looked around frantically – everyone else was as confused as she was. “It’s a small guard outpost.” Lieutenant’s words rang in her ears. This was not a small guard outpost. Fire stung the side of her cheek, and a burst of rock slammed into the ground by her. 

Her water rushed to her rescue, and the girl’s hands and legs whipped around, the water following it. She desperately tried to remember her forms, her practice, and she did, but with the chaos going on around her, and the sight of Water men fighting against Fire and Earth, and losing – it was certainly unnerving. Sokka was clashing arm in arm with a Fire Nation swordsman with his boomerang; Katara sent a flash of ice that disarmed the opponent, pinning him to the ground. Sokka’s face turned to Katara, and she saw a flash of shock and horror and sadness in his eyes. She took a deep breath, and steadying herself from the surprise of such an ambush, quickly recalled her forms. 

A boom brought her back to the battle, and she turned to see red-hot molten rock soaring in the air towards her. Fire and earth bending combined. She pressed her palms into the ground, curling her fingers around the grass stalks. Her eyelid closed. A split second later, she elevated herself on a platform of water, and bent it forward, a thundering tsunami, and doused the rock. She froze the water, and slid down; melting a chunk of ice off and eliminating the respective Firebender and Earthbender. The grass was a dark brown. It crackled when she stepped on it. There was a huge shaking sphere of water suspended above her head, and she spread her fingers apart, separating it into tiny droplets. 

Suddenly, she felt a burning pain on the back of her neck, and she fell forwards in pain, clutching the part which had been burnt. She felt the specks of water collapse into one raging mess. There was the crunch of burnt fabric, and the sizzle of burnt skin, and the scent of burning hair. She grasped at the jagged tendrils, most of which had been burnt off by the fire. She spun around, grimacing at the pain in her back, and shot a water whip at who she suspected to be her attacker – she could see the glint in his eye. She froze the tip, which was met with a strong wave of fire, and a huge burst of flame shooting forwards towards her. She blocked it deftly, and punched forwards several times, sending multiple ice-balls forwards towards the man. She twisted her fingers, morphing the balls into jagged splinters of ice. The man deflected them with white-hot fire, a ghost of a grin forming on his features. He stepped forward. Katara could see the crackle of electricity on his fingertips. She glanced down at the grass – brown, and dead. She looked at her water skin – barely enough to douse lighting. But enough to douse- Katara brought the water forwards, and it floated around her. The man smiled, Katara didn’t. What came next was a repeated ritual, a necessary practice, a life for a life. Rather, one life for hers. 

The blue electricity shot forwards, and so did the water. Katara could barely see it, but the water wrapped around the left half of the man’s body, covering his hands, his arm, and part of his chest. It was convenient that he was using the left side of his body – that’s where his heart was beating. 

The lightning did all of the other work. Katara didn’t flinch. 

Burning flesh, again. 

\--- 

Sokka could see the body, the left side of the man’s body was smoking, while he jerked, crying, howling. Katara just walked away. She just walked away. The boomerang fell at his feet. There were screams in the air, and the Water Tribe boy thought it was him. 

\---

Katara stepped away from the body. Her own injury didn’t even hurt anymore. She didn’t even care about her ruined hair or burnt clothing. He’s dead. That was all there was to it. Sokka was screaming, she didn’t know why. He wasn’t in any particular danger. 

Her water whipped around her like tentacles. Her eyes stopped on the earthbenders. She recognized the fat one with the four teeth, launching…launching a boulder at one of her own. She saw the one with the mask tackling two Water Tribe warriors to the ground with stone handcuffs, and the blind girl…Toph.  
Turns out she really was a good bender. She was single-handedly keeping four Waterbenders at bay, and her hands were encased in a silver substance – metal. Katara gaped. The girl would metalbend. 

Then within two seconds, it clicked. They knew. 

To put it simply in four words: it was a trap. The Water Tribe was now fighting an entire army of Fire Nation soldiers, pretty much most of the Earth Kingdom guards, and the people they hired to fight for them. And they knew all along. 

She glaced at her father. He and Bato were fighting hand-in-hand against a huge Earth Kingdom guard. Arrluk was pinned down by the entire squadron of Dai Li. “Our allegiance is to the Earth Queen.” Most of the warriors were either dead, or rendered useless by the barrage of attacks. Those left standing were barely even managing to stand in the first place. And Sokka, he wasn’t in the best shape. 

It didn’t take a genius to realize that the Water Tribe was losing. 

Katara was starting to formulate a plan. She would have to choose carefully who she would bring with her. She could extract enough water from remaining grass to travel up the wall in an ice slide, but she wouldn’t be able to save everyone. As she fought, she began to think. Father, Sokka, Bato, Arrluk. That was about everyone that was most important to the war effort. The rest…well, to put it simply, their rescue came on another day. 

Her water was chaos. It was rough, jagged, angry. It was sharp, it was piercing. It wasn’t smooth, neither was it graceful. It was cruel and it was painful. And the only thing was, it wasn’t the water that was making it that way. It was Katara.

\---

Sokka, like his sister, managed to figure out what was happening soon after she did. He had stopped staring at the charred body, and instead on the surroundings. The Earthbenders had betrayed them. His thoughts flew to Toph. He could see her fighting. She was strong, much stronger that he thought she would be. Earth flew everywhere. She was slicing the air, sliding around the ground, thrusting her arms, and the Earth followed her every command. She wasn’t even blind right now. She could see. He was even more in awe at the metal which coated her fingertips. Blades of it were buried in his warriors. 

But the pang of betrayal settled in. It was painful, that was for sure. It was like a knife in the heart, but plunged in once, twice, and over and over again, just to make sure that it was left in shreds. All the while Toph smirked. He could remember what she had said yesterday. It all made sense now. He could practically see it. The Earthbenders led them straight into the battle. Straight to where every other possible soldier was, thus taking advantage of the Water Tribe’s dependence on them and their tunnel building, to turn the tides on the Water Tribe, and drive them out of Ba Sing Se. Honestly, did Sokka even care that they were facing imminent defeat anymore? His eyes narrowed. 

He gripped his club (a gift from his father on his sixteenth birthday). The boomerang was slid back into its sheath. He swung the club, holding on tight with both hands. It met with the legs of his enemies. Oops, he meant, the people he was fighting. Not his enemies. 

\---  
Toph noticed Sokka nearby. Really was a shame. Seemed like he was a nice guy. 

\---

Sokka was angry. Then he noticed green pants and a heavy belt. He looked up. She seemed like she was staring right at him.

“Hello, Toph.”

“Hello, Sokka.” 

Sokka stared for a moment. The girl was so different from the one on the sea. He knew what he had to do. 

“I’m sorry, Toph. But it has to be done.” 

“I’m not sorry.” 

Sokka’s hand flew forwards, ten fingers wrapped firmly around his club, aiming for the girl’s waist. Then it wouldn’t be fatal. The girl didn’t even smirk. She stepped back just as his club reached her abdomen, and a block of earth slid out of the ground beneath him, so he was slammed against it chest-first. A belt of earth slipped around his chest. 

“You idiot.” Toph said quietly, before slipping away. 

Sokka beat his hands against the earth. He’d never cried before, but the war really did do things to you. 

 

Katara had seen Sokka face Toph. And really? Now he was pinned to the Earth, because a blind girl beat him up? Spirits. He really was useless. She sent a splint of ice his way, her mouth twitching at the satisfying cracking sound when it hit the earth. Stupid brother. He really should stop making me save his butt. 

 

Sokka was free. He wiped the tearstains on his cheek. He could still feel the warm heat of the earth against his chest. The warm sting of betrayal. His eyes unintentionally moved to the soldier Katara had attacked earlier. He hadn’t noticed it before, but there was a Fire Nation pin in the man’s hair. Strange, for a soldier. Usually that was reserved for royalty…wasn’t it? 

Then, he heard a heart-wrenching roar. An older man, wearing a similar pin, had seen the body. He was rushing over to it now. He had grey hair, and red-and-gold robes, and the fire emblem in his hair. He knelt by the body, moving it so the man’s head was in his lap. His hands cupped the man’s face. The man cried. 

“My son!” The man said. “My son is dead!” 

No one really noticed the heartbreak, other than Sokka. They just kept fighting, while a man mourned his dead child. Two fingers slid over the dead man’s eyelids, closing them. He almost looked asleep. A gasp hitched in Sokka’s throat. The man was now cradling his son in his arms, tears dripping down his cheeks. 

“My darling wife, look after our son.” Sokka could barely hear the man’s words. “He has joined you too soon.” The father slid his son gently from his lap. 

And then there was a song. And then the man looked up from his son’s dead body and looked Sokka straight in the eye. Sokka suddenly felt acutely uncomfortable. But he levelled his gaze, and was surprised to see that in the man’s eyes, was not anger, or vengeance, but pure grief. The grief of a father who lost his son before he should have. The sadness of someone who had given up. 

The man turned back to his son. Sokka was left empty inside. Because he had the feeling that this wasn’t the first time that a father had mourned his son because of this war. He started to think that there were so many other families that had been torn apart by this war, and that there were so many young men and women gearing up for a war that they shouldn’t have to fight. Like himself. Sokka looked around. Many more parents will grieve their fallen children that died today. 

A wave of cold overtook Sokka. He stood in the middle of an ambush, fighting for his Tribe, but he realized that if they had won, they would have received nothing other than the ecstasy of victory and the hate of everyone else who belonged to places other than the Poles. While the rest of the world suffered, the Water Tribe continued to inflict more pain disguised as victory. Sokka’s hand slapped over the Water Tribe emblem on his chest. And then he was flying, flying away, and out of the battle, a strong hand around his waist. 

Katara had grabbed him, and now they were zooming forwards on a slide of ice, which was travelling up an ice ramp while led to the top of the wall. Sokka turned to look for the grieving father, who had disappeared. The dead son still laid on the ground. Sokka didn’t want to be Water Tribe anymore, he realized suddenly. He didn’t want to be directly responsible for any more fighting. Any more death. Any more grief. He looked at Lieutenant Arrluk. He didn’t want to be like him. 

And his father. How could he let this happen? And Katara? He thought she hated seeing people in trouble. In pain. She had said something a few days ago, when the troops at Ba Sing Se begged for reinforcements. I’ll never turn my back on people who need me. 

Well, the people of the world needed her, or someone, more than ever. I guess, if Katara won’t be that person, I will. Or at least find someone to. Sokka rethought his idea. He remembered Arrluk’s famous line: For the glory and honor of the Water Tribe. And it struck him. He knew what he had to do. 

“For the glory and honor of the Water Tribe,” Sokka thought. “I will find the Avatar.” 

\---

Katara, Hakoda, Bato, Arrluk and Sokka landed just outside the wall. Inside the walls, there was a clash of Earth and Fire against Water. The Earthbenders were stubborn, the Waterbenders were proud, and the Firebenders, they were angry. 

Meanwhile, Zuko and Aang stared into the Eternal Flame and wondered how something so beautiful could be so painful.


End file.
